New Mexico's fall season is here, filled with unique festivals and cultural activities that can only be discovered in the Land of Enchantment. As Secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department, I welcome you to New Mexico, a place like no other.
Michael Cerletti
The 22nd annual Festival of the Cranes, November 17-22, 2009, offers something for everyone: from backyard birders to bird experts, from amateur photographers to pros.
Activities include refuge tours; bird, biology, geology and art workshops; keynote speakers; and much more. The Festival highlights the world renowned Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, which is in its 70th year of managing the refuge for the benefit of wildlife and their habitat.
Members of the Audubon Council of New Mexico, the Central New Mexico Audubon Society, the American Birding Association and the Friends of the Bosque Board will be on hand at the observation decks around the Bosque tour loops to assist visitors with questions and to share their birding expertise and scopes.
The mountains of Southern New Mexico are already ablaze with color, and the resort town of Ruidoso will celebrate this change in seasons with the annual Ruidoso Oktoberfest October 16-17, 2009 at the Ruidoso Convention Center.
Hours are 5 -11 p.m. October 16 and noon-11 p.m. October 17. Tickets for adults are $8 for one day or $14 for two days; $5 and $8, respectively, for ages 13 to 18; and free for children ages 12 and younger (must be accompanied by an adult.)
The world's first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 as a wedding celebration for Bavaria's King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. It didn't take long for the fun loving Bavarians to replace the horse races, agricultural shows and other distractions with a focus on great beer, music, dancing and food.
Now celebrating its 400th anniversary, Santa Fe was once an infant city on the remote Spanish frontier. Opening November 20, 2009 at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time explores the archaeological and historical roots of early Hispanic life in North America.
From the first Spanish colony in San Gabriel del Yungue, to the founding of Santa Fe and its first 100 years as New Mexico's capital, the exhibition shows how the founders lived, the hardships they faced, the tools they used and the foods they ate.
Co-curated by Josef Diaz of the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors and Stephen Post of the Department of Cultural Affairs/Office of Archaeological Studies, Santa Fe Found collects more than 160 artifacts from four historic sites, along with maps, documents, household goods, weaponry and religious objects. Together, they tell the story of cultural encounters between early colonists and the Native Americans who had long called this place home.
Photo courtesy of Sarah PickeringThe work of nine artists is featured in Manmade: Notions of Landscape from the Lannan Collection, currently on exhibition through January 10, 2010 at the New Mexico Museum of Art on the Santa Fe Plaza in Santa Fe.
Often thought of as a pristine wilderness, uninhabited and unmarred by human presence - despite the fact that for many decades now it been represented as incontrovertibly interconnected with mankind - the land itself has been the very material of art-making.
The photo-based works that will be on view in Manmade: Notions of Landscape from the Lannan Collection includes post-Katrina photographs of a ravaged landscape by Debbie Fleming Caffery; images of the meeting of land and sea that have been witness to historic moments by Thomas Joshua Cooper; a typological grid of lighthouse photographs by Olafur Eliasson; the confessional water images of Roni Horn; nighttime photographs of wars acted out in the desert by An-My Lê; "portraits" of explosions in the landscape by Sarah Pickering; and photographs of the contemporary industrial landscape by Victoria Sambunaris.
The annual Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival Holiday Show, featuring the work of more than 200 artists and craftsmen from all over the United States and attracting more than 20,000 visitors annually, is November 27-29, 2009 in the Manuel Lujan Exhibit Building at the Expo New Mexico Fairgrounds in Albuquerque. Hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day.
The show is one of the largest in the state and offers a great variety of handcrafted items. Creativity and uniqueness abound in pottery, paintings, jewelry, woodworking, clothing, and handcrafts of all kinds.
Circle, high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico.
The 42nd annual High Rolls Apple Festival - offering apples and apple cider, arts and crafts, and fun for the entire family - is October 17-18, 2009 in High Rolls, located in Otero County near the Sacramento Mountains in Southeastern New Mexico.
The Festival takes place at the High Rolls Community Center, just east of the U.S. 82 tunnel. The hours are 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. October 17 and 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. October 18. Admission and parking are free.
It is sponsored by the Lions Club of High Rolls/Mountain Park, New Mexico, a non-profit organization that helps the community by raising money and then returning it to those in need. Over 95% of the festival profits go to local, state, national and international charitable causes.
Isleta Casino and Resort is your gateway to luxury, gaming, relaxation and entertainment in the heart of beautiful New Mexico.
The "Two Much Fun" Giveaway includes a two-night hotel stay, a spa package for two at the Spa at Isleta, golf for two at the Isleta Eagle Golf Club, meal vouchers good for breakfast, lunch or dinner at any Resort restaurant, one dinner for two at the Tiwa Steakhouse, and $100 each in ePromo free play for two at one of the hottest casinos around.
"Eco-tourists spend more money, stay longer, and have a desire for authentic, hands-on experiences in places where their time and money will benefit the local communities," said Jen Hobson, Deputy Secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department. "Ecotourism promotes and preserves nature-based travel experiences, outdoor adventure, and cultural heritage. If you combine that with the fact that no other state in the US has developed a corner-to-corner initiative for Ecotourism, it means New Mexico is poised to become one of the world’s best Ecotourism destinations."
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October 2009 Events
9-10 Four Corners Storytelling Festival, Farmington - 505-599-1273
10 Los Leones de Mesilla Car Show - 575-644-3747
Ancient Way Cycling Tour, Grants - 505-287-4802
Open Air Market, Jemez Pueblo - jemezpueblo.org
10-11 Abiquiu Studio Tour - www.abiquiustudiotour.org
17-18 Octoberfest, Ruidoso - 575-257-6171
Peanut Valley Festival, Portales - http://www.portalesnewmexico.com/
Duke City Marathon - www.dukecitymarathon.com
High Rolls Apple Festival - www.highrollsfestivals.orgNovember 2009 Events
2 Dixon Studio Tour - dixonarts.org
13-15 International Mariachi Conference & Concert - 575-525-1735
15 Mixed Nuts Arts & Crafts Show, Rodeo - hidalgocounty.org
26 Christmas on the Pecos through 12/31, Carlsbad - christmasonthepecos.comDecember 2009 Events
4 Trails of Lights - Las Cruces - 575-541-2288
4-6 WinterFest, Los Alamos - 505-661-4844
5 Jolly Holidays & Fine Crafts Show, Corrales - corrales-mainstreet.org
5-6 Christmas in the Foothills, Hillsboro - hillsboronm.com
Salmon Ruins Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair - 800-448-1240
10 Our Lady of Guadalupe Fiesta at Tortugas - 575-526-8171
12 Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day, Pojoaque Pueblo - indianpueblo.org
Riverglow, Farmington - 800-448-1240
Floating Lights Parade, Elephant Butte - http://elephantbuttechamberofcommerce.com/
Navajo Nativity, Farmington - 800-448-1240
20 New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque - newmexicobowl.com
Farolito/Luminaria Tours, Santa Fe & Albuquerque - newmexico.org
Lighting of Luminaria, Carrizozo - townofcarrizozo.org
Angel Fire Torchlight Parade and Fireworks - 575-377-6401
Christmas Carols & Luminarias, Old Mesilla - 575-524-3262
24-28 Dances at various pueblos - indianpueblo.org
28-29 Santa Fe Spanish Market - www.spanishcolonial.org
31 New Year's Eve Dances at various pueblos - indianpueblo.org31 Torchlight Parades at various ski areas - skinewmexico.com